Miracle
by Arurommi
Summary: Stephanie has been gone for 13 months and Ranger loses hope of finding her. Babe story. Rated for the F word.


"Enough with the bullshit, Manoso!" Morelli roared, slamming his hand down on my desk. "I thought tracking people was what you and your band of thugs do!"

I took in a deep breath to keep myself from hurtling the asshole out the window. "I've already told you, Morelli, I've got no leads on Stephanie."

The veins in his forehead started to throb, he clenched his jaw as he let out a growl. "Do you expect me to believe that? She's been missing for over a year and nobody has a clue! If her body is discovered in a ditch somewhere, her blood will be on your hands!"

I glared at him. " _My hands?_ I'm not the one who humiliated her in front of her entire family and friends!"

He narrowed his eyes before turning to storm out the door, slamming it shut behind him.

I shook my head as I slumped back into my seat. Even though I didn't let it show, I was out of my mind worrying about my Babe.

I had heard about what the bastard had done from Eddie the last time I was at the PD just over a year ago. It was a miracle I had the self-control not to track Morelli down and wipe him off the face of the earth.

I still had a hard time picturing it. It was her grandmother's 80th birthday, and naturally the crazy lady wanted to party like it was her 21st. Stephanie's parents booked a private room at some restaurant and had the entire family over with plenty to drink. Unfortunately, they made the mistake of inviting the son-of-a-bitch.

Eddie didn't know the full story, but he remembered Morelli yelling at Stephanie for some unknown reason before calling her a mouthful of names while declaring their permanent break up and then storming out.

Albert, Stephanie's brother-in-law and the obvious choice for the designated driver, took her home once the tears started to fall.

2 weeks later, I saw her at Tank and Lula's wedding- a month before she had disappeared.

I was Tank's Best Man and she was Lula's Maid of Honour. The ceremony was simple (which was surprising if you knew Lula) and kept traditional, but the reception was held at a luxury hotel and was a night to remember- ironically not many of us could remember much of it.

Even after a few drinks, I could tell Stephanie was still upset. I wanted to be the man she needed that the asshole could never be. We danced together; holding each other close for a few songs before deciding to head outside away from the chaos and invigorating atmosphere.

The hotel had a tall patio deck that lead to a large garden where we secreted ourselves underneath. Once we had our privacy, we lost track of time running our hands all over each other's bodies as our lips locked in hungry kisses.

When we parted for breath, we sat on the ground with my back against the wall and Stephanie resting against my chest with my arms wrapped around her.

She looked up at me and smiled sadly. "Why did I waste my time on him when I could have spent it better with you?"

I kissed her temple. "We can make up for it, Babe."

After that we weren't exactly a couple, but we did see more of each other. I took her to Pino's, and we took turns spending time at each other's places either having dinner, watching a movie or making love.

Most importantly though, I loved her for being the woman she was meant to be. Unlike that bastard.

I couldn't understand Morelli and I was still furious with myself for sending her back to him after our first night together.

He was a poison. A toxin. A vile controller.

Whenever Stephanie was at Rangeman, she was surrounded by people who loved her; gave her confidence and courage; praised her for her good heart and incredible insight and instincts. Like me, they all loved her _for her_.

I had overheard Tank say to her that he and Lula would never have met if it wasn't for her.

When I thought about it for myself, he was right. The wedding would never have taken place if she didn't blackmail her cousin into giving her the job. Fuck, _I_ wouldn't have even met her. Maybe under different circumstances, but what were the chances of that?

Now, she was gone.

The first time I realised something wasn't right was when I kept getting her voicemail for her cell phone, but no answer on herlandline.

I hurried to her apartment, expecting to find the place in shambles or signs of a struggle. But when I got there, the placed looked untouched.

The living room was clean and seemed ordinary save for the curtains drawn shut and the phone being unplugged. Her bedroom was the same; the bed was made and all her clothes were still hanging inside her wardrobe, but when I checked her drawers her underwear, nightwear and socks were gone.

Her bathroom was spotless, but there was nothing left in her cabinet- not even a hair pin.

I went into the kitchen and the first thing I noticed was that Rex's aquarium was gone. I opened the refrigerator. _Empty_. I checked the cupboards. All of them were completely bare.

That was it. No note. No explanation. Nothing. There weren't even any eviction notices or threatening letters.

I told Tank to ask her friends and family if there was anything abnormal going on while I spent the entire day trying to trace her. But everything was left at her apartment; her phone, her credit cards, her laptop, _everything._ I checked her email address. The last time she had used it was to reply to an email from her best friend, Mary-Lou.

I tried to track her car, but only to find it was off the grid.

When Tank had returned, I was clinging on to the last few strands of hope.

"Nothing." He said, shaking his head. "They say she's been perfectly fine -and a lot better actually since she stopped seeing the cop."

And that was it. It was like she had just disappeared into thin air.

For the rest of the year, I had spent every day trying to get a lead on her; tracing everything over and over until I was sick of seeing the same results. Tank notified me that a missing person report had been made, but that wasn't much help to us.

 _And then Morelli got involved._

Stephanie had been missing for 13 months by the time he realised she was gone. I don't know why he cared since he still had no remorse about how he treated her at her grandmother's party- especially if it took him that long to notice.

Before she disappeared, Stephanie told me everyone wanted nothing to do with the Morellis after his outburst. Eddie must have made it a priority.

We told Morelli everything that we knew which only brought him as far to solving Stephanie's disappearance as we were.

And now here I am. Sitting in my office chair a year later staring out the window. The only idea I had left was to scour the entire country for her.

I tried to think why Stephanie would suddenly disappear. Was she hoping more from me? Was she expecting us to be an official couple? Was she tired of waiting?

The next day, I was not motivated to do anything apart from stare into space at my desk, thinking of my babe.

I was so lost in thought I nearly jumped when my office door slammed open and Morelli came storming in.

His eyes were wide and he was red in the face. "What are you hiding?!" He yelled.

I stared at him. " _What_?"

"Don't give me that! You told me a missing person report was filed. But when I got tired of waiting, I checked the cases myself, only to discover one was never made!"

I rose from my chair, glaring at him. "You better not be fucking with me." I growled, rising from my desk.

"Why would I be fucking with _you_ over something like this?!" He screamed. "Stephanie has been missing for 15 months and _nobody_ as bothered to file a missing person report! What the fuck is going on?!"

I stared at him. Tank lied straight to my face about my babe?

"I don't have a fucking clue!" I roared. "I've done everything that needs to be done to find a missing person! I was told that a report _was_ filed and that her family noticed nothing unusual about her before she disappeared."

"That doesn't answer my question, Manoso. Let's just face reality; Stephanie's gone- _dead._ "

" _She's not dead."_

We both looked up and, to my surprise, found Tank standing outside my office door, his face blank, unreadable. He probably wanted to get the shit over with when Morelli arrived.

I did too.

"Why did you lie to me, Tank?" I growled. "What the hell is going on?"

He let out a sigh through his nose before saying, "I've known where Stephanie is from the start. She's in Maine."

Morelli and I glanced at each other. "Maine?" We both said in unison.

He nodded. "Yeah, and before you start asking questions, it'd be better if she explains everything to you herself. It'll be quicker if we take the jet."

Morelli's mouth fell open. "We're going to fly to Maine right now?"

Tank frowned at him. "If you want to see her after all this time, then yeah, we are." He looked back at me. "Just so you know, Boss, she's fine. Lula has been dropping in on her."

The hour and a half flight felt like an eternity. So many questions and I didn't know which to ask first. Once we landed at Portland International Jet, Tank called us a cab and gave an address to the driver.

The car ride took less than 10 minutes, but I was desperate to see my Babe again.

It was early evening when we stepped out of the car which stopped outside a house on Ashmont Street.

As Tank paid the fare, I took the time to get a proper look at the house. It was 2 stories with dark green wood panels and topped with a brown tiled roof. The lawn was neat and had been cut recently judging by the smell as lush green bushes were planted underneath the only garden window where I noticed a light was on, but the curtains were shut. A silver Volvo was parked in the drive way.

The cab drove off and Tank led us up the path, taking out a set of keys as he did. He opened the front door and walked in.

"Stephanie?" He called. "Are you decent?"

I pretended not to hear that.

He stopped in a spacious foyer where blue and white stripped wallpaper covered the walls as red oak wood ran across the floors.

There was a wooden doorframe at the far end which I could see led to a white marble kitchen. The light was on and Stephanie walked into the hall.

"Hey Tank, I was just making some-" She froze when she saw me and Morelli.

She was wearing a purple dressing gown, pink pyjama pants and white slipper socks. But my attention was focused on her very swollen stomach.

" _Babe…_ " I whispered as our eyes finally met. Her's were wide and filled with fear.

She looked at Tank. "Do they know?"

Tank shook his head. "It was your decision, so I thought it would be better if it came from you."

She went very silent as she turned her gaze to the floor. Letting out a shaky breath, she nodded. "I get why Ranger is here, but what is _he_ doing here?!"

My Babe casted a glare towards her ex and I felt Morelli's angry vibes radiate off him.

"I think the better question is who got you knocked up?!" He switched from me to Tank. " _It was one of you two, wasn't it?!_ "

"She's been gone _a year_ , dumbass." I said. "Do the math."

"Like that matters." He scowled at her. "Who's is it, Stephanie? Which one of these thugs is the father?!"

Her eyes narrowed. "Not that it's any of your business, Joe, but if you must know, it's Tank's,"

Morelli turned to Tank with sheer bloody murder in his eye. I felt as though a knife was plunged into my chest as I struggled to breathe.

"And Lula's!" She added quickly.

We both stared at her.

"Lula's?" I repeated.

She nodded, her eyes were sad as she held my gaze.

"C'mon Stephanie," Morelli tutted. "I know you paid enough attention in high school to know how it works."

"You also know that I'd never _do it_ with my best friend's husband." She hissed. " _I'm a surrogate mother._ "

The knife in my chest dissolved as I took it all in. It was soon replaced with a new, warm feeling that made my heart swell.

My Babe pressed her lips together as she started to tear up. I was about to reach for her when Tank beat me to it.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Let's go sit in the living room."

Morelli and I followed them into the next room. Tank sat them both down on the sofa and I purposely sat in the arm chair closest to my Babe. Morelli chose to stand.

"You both know, while Joe was FTA, I found Lula…nearly beaten to death on my fire escape." She sighed.

We nodded. There was no need for her to retell the whole story.

"Because of that, Lula isn't able to have kids. Her womb was too badly ruptured for it to carry a baby, so artificial insemination would have been a waste of time."

"And adoption was out of the question." Tank added. He didn't need to explain why. "But then we heard about people having a _gestational carrier,_ where the fertilized egg of the parents is inseminated into another woman's womb. We had talked about it since Lula and I were engaged. Despite what Lula went through, her ovaries were still functioning. I've had no issues, but we were still missing a carrier. I don't have many female friends, and Lula's were far from suitable."

"So, that left me," Said Stephanie. "Surrogacy is a rare topic in The Burg _._ The last thing we needed was the stress of the whole of New Jersey gossiping about it and possibly drinking my mother in to an early grave. Since Maine was more in favour about this kind of thing, Tank found this place for me and…Well, you know the rest."

Tank nodded. "A few strings had to be pulled, but we were able to go ahead with the process." He looked at me apologetically. "I hated keeping this from you, Boss. But…But…" He turned to Stephanie for an answer.

She patted his hand. "I didn't want anyone to know until the baby arrived. I told everyone I would be away from home for a while, helping some friends- which is not far from the truth. I didn't know how my family would take it…"

She looked sheepishly at me.

"But you knew how I'd react." Morelli snarled.

Stephanie narrowed her eyes at him again. "I was just waiting for you to bring it up. Was making a scene about it at my grandma's party not enough for you?"

"Christ, Stephanie!"

I stood up when I noticed his fingers twitch, although he pretended not to take any notice of me.

"You know I've been wanting us to start a family for lord knows how long. How could I _not_ lose my temper when the only response I got from you was _I need to think this through_ or _I don't know if I'm ready to have kids_?"

Stephanie pushed herself up from the couch, her fists clenched. "That's what _you_ wanted. You never even considered about how I felt about the whole thing."

"But you decided to carry someone else's kid without a second thought?!"

"Yeah, Joe, because it was what _I_ wanted. It was _my_ decision. Why shouldn't they be allowed to have a child of their own?" We noticed him give a glance towards Tank. " _Don't you dare mention Lula's history or what you think about Tank's occupation!_ "

Morelli shook his head. " _This is sick_. We had discussed about starting a family god knows how many times, but you were more willing to be fertilised by two different people!"

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "That's not how it works, _dumbass_ , and why am I even discussing this with you? You made it perfectly clear, with plenty of witnesses, that you were done waiting for us to settle down. Last time I checked, we were done. _Finished!_ Unlike us, Tank and Lula are a happy couple who have every right to start a family of their own. _We_ did the world a favour by _not_ reproducing.

"I had been planning this surrogacy with them for months, _before we broke up_ , but you had the nerve to think that you could plan my life out for me, just like that!" She finished by snapping her fingers.

His face slowly turned to a nasty shade of purple. " _You planned it with them while we were still together?_ "

She smirked. "Well I was going to tell you, but after that lovely speech you made, I didn't need to. The real question is: how come you're so suddenly interested in seeing me again over a year later?"

Morelli went very still, save for his eyes blinking at her and then to me.

 _I knew why._

"You were afraid of losing her to me." I said, folding my arms. "Despite it taking you 13 damn months to realise she was missing, you knew Stephanie and I were seeing more of each other."

His silence said it all.

Stephanie shook her head as the tears finally started to fall. "I should have known. Even when we're separated, you still have the need to control some part of my life- even the people in it!" She took a deep breath. "You're not part of my life anymore, Joe, and it's going to stay that way. _I don't want to see you ever again._ "

A moment of tense silence hung over us.

Tank stood up. "If you behave yourself, I'll take you back to the airport."

Morelli glared at him, but took the small mercy as he led the way out of the room.

Once we heard the front door close, Stephanie turned to me, wiping her eyes with the heel of her hand.

"I suppose you want to know why I decided to leave town without telling you." She sniffed.

Before I could answer, she held her head up high and looked me straight in the eye.

"I didn't know _what_ or _how_ to tell you…I didn't even know where _we_ were at…even if I fooled myself into thinking it didn't matter, the last thing I wanted was for you to be mad at Tank. Despite everything that I've gone through, something much more precious was taken from Lula… _it's not fair that great people like her and Tank are unable to conceive, unlike that jackass's family!"_

She shuddered as more tears streaked down her face.

"Babe-"

"I don't care if you are mad at me for keeping this from you…"

" _Babe-_ "

"even if it means that you never want to see me again because of this, you should know how lucky you are that you actually have a-"

"BABE!"

My change of tone stunned her.

I stepped forward and held her face tenderly in both my hands. "I'm not mad at you _or_ Tank because of this." I said softly, nodding to her baby bump. "However, I am upset that you didn't tell me anything about this."

She looked away. "I could have guessed that."

"You have no idea how scared I've been. I thought I was going insane, thinking I had failed when the only idea I had left was to search the entire country for you; it didn't help when you-know-who got involved."

A fresh tear trailed down her cheek but I wiped it away with my thumb. "Despite all that, I am so proud of you."

I smiled as her eyes, now filled with awe, locked with mine again before pulling her into my arms. "I can't think of anyone who would do something as selfless as this. You really are an amazing person."

I felt her fists clench the back of my shirt as she buried her face in my chest. "Tank wanted you to know, but I was afraid that you'd be against it. I didn't want to go on with it behind your back in case you were. I couldn't hurt him and Lula like that by bailing out…"

I pulled away and tilted her chin up with one finger so she had to look at me. "Babe, why were you afraid of what I would think? I don't own you. It was your choice."

She let out a sigh. "Well…Tank's your best friend. We were seeing more of each other and… _I don't know…_ I thought it would be better to wait until it was all over."

I caressed her cheek in one hand as I leant down to place my lips against her's. I felt her relax against me as she responded to the kiss. _God I missed this feeling._

Our foreheads touched as we parted for breath, my hands still framing her face. "Unless they're bat-shit-crazy, you shouldn't worry what I think about your choices; _I'm not like Morelli._ You're a strong independent woman, that's what I love about you."

She leant back to give me her best smile, but frowned slightly. I recognised the guilty look in her eye. "I'm sorry I put you through all that."

"Forget about it." I said, kissing her forehead before placing a hand on her stomach. "Are you planning to tell your family?"

Stephanie shrugged. "I haven't decided yet. I know grandma will be amazed that a Caucasian woman can have an African-American baby, but knowing my mother…"

I nodded in understanding. "She can't object to it once it's all over. Even if she does, you'll have plenty of people on your side. It can't be anything like your sister's last pregnancy."

"At least this one is in wedlock…kind of." She smiled at her baby bump before looking back at me. "So…what now?"

I blinked at her. "What do you mean?"

"Now that you know about this, and I now know that you're not going to kill Tank, where do we go from here?" Panic crossed her face. "Do you need to get back to New Jersey?"

"That depends," I said, sitting us down on the sofa with my arm wrapped around her. "How many weeks are you?"

"33,"

"And when's your due date?"

"August 16th,"

"Then, if it's okay with you, I'll stay with you until the end."

She stared at me. Her eyes shining a crystal blue. "Really? You will?"

Without another word, I kissed her. 15 months of my life without her in it, I was more than ready to make up for the time I struggled without her in my arms and her lips against mine.

"And when we get back to New Jersey," I whispered. "I want us to _be_ together."

The tears brimmed in her eyes once more. "Honestly?"

I grinned and held her close to me. "Yes. That way I know I won't lose you again."

We were watching some old movie on the TV when we heard the front door open and Tank walked into the room.

He watched both of us for a moment before smirking slightly. "Well, I see everything's intact and there's no blood on the walls."

Stephanie laughed. "It turns out we had nothing to worry about, Tank. Ranger is cool with it."

Tank looked at me and grinned before looking back at her. "Have you told him?"

I turned to see her smile and shake her head.

"Tell me what?" I asked.

Tank licked his lips, hesitating as he chose his words. "Don't tell Lula that I asked you this without her, or she'll kill me. After the baby is born, Stephanie is going to be the Godmother. So, we're hoping that you'd be the Godfather."

I grinned at him. "I'd be honoured."

He grinned back, "Great, now just act surprised when Lula asks you."

"Noted."

 _5 weeks later…._

"Come on, Babe, you can do this." I encouraged as I clasped her hand.

Stephanie panted as beads of sweat rolled down her face, groaning at another contraction. " _Holy shit…_ "

"Keep breathing, Ms. Plum." The doctor instructed. "you're almost fully dilated."

Our unborn Godchild was 6 days late. Stephanie had planned to have an epidural but the birthing plan had gone out the window when her water broke without any warning.

I had called Tank, who was still in Jersey, but since Lula hated flying they had a long drive a head of them. It was just as well since Stephanie had been in labour for 6 hours now.

"Okay, Ms. Plum. I can see the head now." Said the doctor. "You need to start pushing for 40 seconds. Remember to breathe."

With an iron grip on my hand, Stephanie took a deep breath and did as he said. I held my tongue when I felt the circulation cut off in my fingers. "That's 20 seconds, Babe. Take a breath."

Her chest heaved as she drew in another lungful of air before continuing to push. 20 more seconds later, a strangled scream escaped her throat; she leant forward from a reflex before we both heard a tiny cry.

Stephanie collapsed against the bed, gasping heavily.

I kissed the back of her hand. "Well done, Babe. I'm proud of you."

She smiled weakly at me before looking in the direction of the cry. "What do we have? A Godson or Goddaughter?"

I turned my head to see the doctor wrapping our godchild in a white blanket, before bringing the small bundle over to us.

"You have a healthy Goddaughter," He beamed, placing her in Stephanie's arms before picking up a clipboard. "6 pounds and 12 ounces."

"Is that all?" Stephanie laughed. "She's so tiny!"

"Do we have a name?"

We exchanged glances, before shaking our heads no.

"They wanted it to be a surprise." She explained. "I don't know if they've settled on a name yet."

"No problem. What's the family name?"

"Romero." I answered.

" _Baby Romero_." The doctor wrote on a plastic pink id bracelet which he attached to our Goddaughter's wrist. "The nurse will take her to be cleaned up in a moment while we have you moved to a private room, Ms. Plum. The parents will be notified once they arrive at reception."

He left the room, giving us some time alone.

I took a good look at her. She had the same chocolate coloured skin as her parents and a headful of ebony black hair. I couldn't believe how small she was when I knew who her mother and father were.

Stephanie held her up to me. "Go on. Hold your Goddaughter, Ranger."

I smiled as she placed her in my arms. " _Bienvenido al mundo pequeño._ You're going to hear one heck of a story when you're older."

3 hours later, we were all in a private room as the doctor had promised. Our Goddaughter was now clean and dressed in a pink baby grow with a matching hat, bundled in a yellow blanket. Her Godmother had showered and changed into a blue nightdress.

While they were both asleep, I had been down to the hospital gift shop and bought a few pink and purple baby gifts along with the biggest chocolate bar they had for Stephanie.

Stephanie was awake by the time I got back and was more than grateful for the chocolate.

My phone buzzed. "They've arrived, Babe." I said, reading a text message from Tank.

She looked up at me, a square of chocolate half way to her mouth as she beamed a teary-eyed grin. " _They're going to be so happy_ …" She turned her head to the sleeping baby girl. " _I can't believe it's all over_ …"

I sat next to her on the bed, placing an arm around her shoulders and hugging her to me. "They're lucky to have a friend like you, Babe." I kissed her curls. "And I'm lucky to have you in my life."

There was a knock on the door. The handle turned and Lula and Tank walked in.

I got up off the bed as Lula rushed over to Stephanie, enveloping her into a tight hug. Tank and I did the same.

"Congrats, man." I grinned before Lula flung herself on to me. Tank and Stephanie shared a quick kiss and embrace.

As Lula let go of me, her eyes locked onto the little bundle in the baby bed. "Is that our baby?" She whispered.

"Yeah," Stephanie smiled, tears streaming down her cheeks. "She's 6 pounds 12 ounces."

"We have a baby girl…" Tank breathed, blinking rapidly as his eyes turned tear bright.

"Go on," I urged. "Meet your daughter. We're dying to know her name."

They both approached the baby bed. With gentle hands, Lula lifted her daughter out of the cradle.

Tank placed his arm around her, his eyes never leaving his baby girl.

"We've chosen a name," Lula said. "Amari Stephanie Romero. _Amari_ means _miracle_ or _gift from God._ We had to include her Godmother's name. Steph, we can't thank you enough."

"You're my best friend," Stephanie smiled. "We're supposed to do crazy stuff for each other."

* * *

 **I've had this story line stuck in my head for over a year and you would not believe how much research I have done -_-' I really hope I got my facts right! DX**

 **Just in case you're confused with the timeline -I know because I was and it took me forever to get it right... _and I hope it still is_... here's how it goes:**

 **Year 001**

 **22nd** **April - Grandma Mazur's birthday (which is absolutely canon, go look it up.) Morelli is a douchebag and ruins her party.**

 **6th** **May- 2 weeks later - Tank and Lula's wedding** **and start of Stephanie and Ranger's time together.**

 **7th - 21st May - Tank and Lula's Honeymoon.**

 **23rd May - 6th June - Tank looks and finds a place for Stephanie in Maine.**

 **7th - 14th June - Stephanie's move to Maine is prepared. Thus ending her and Ranger's time together.**

 **12th June and onward - Stephanie is in Maine. Ranger is searching for her.**

 **9th November - Stephanie is implanted with the fertilized embryo.**

 **Year 002**

 **June 19th - our story starts.**

 **June 20th - Ranger is reunited with Stephanie who is now 8 months pregnant.**

 **August 16th - Stephanie's due date but baby is 6 days late.**

 **August 22nd - Amari Stephanie Romero is born :)**

 **Yes, Tank's last-name is not Cannon- I made it up.**


End file.
